A gunman at Fashion Island in Newport Beach apparently fired more than 50 rounds in a parking lot at the busy shopping mall before he was apprehended by police, authorities said Saturday.

The 42-year-old male was arrested in the parking lot near the Macy’s department store shortly after firing the shots about 4:30 p.m., said Kathy Lowe, a spokeswoman for the Newport Beach Police Department. Officers on bike patrol apprehended the man.

Police searched the mall but did not find anyone who had been struck by the gunfire. The shots were apparently fired either in the air or at the ground.

More than 50 rounds were recovered at the scene, said Deputy Chief David McGill. A handgun was recovered at the scene, but police did not reveal any more details about the weapon.

The mall was crowded with holiday shoppers at the time of the shooting.

Shopper Dena Nassef said she and another person were walking toward Macy’s when people started yelling and running.

“With what happened in Connecticut, we were freaking out,” she said. “It was like crazy, people leaving stores.”

Ann Butcher, an employee at Macy’s, said she was on the patio at Whole Foods when people started running and screaming. She said some women left their purses and fled.

“That was very scary,” she said.

Shopper Eric Widmer said he was at the Barnes & Noble bookstore when he saw a mother and daughter rush in crying. He said he heard someone scream, “Shooter!”

He said he managed to exit the bookstore and head to Macy’s, which he could not leave.

“I thought, ‘Great, I get to be scared twice,’” he said. “Lightning strikes twice.”

Silly question, could it be people are freaked out about this whole December 21st Mayan BS and they figure if they are going to die anyway then they want to release their pent up issues on everyone and make a statement before they can't make a statement anymore?

I don't believe in the December 21st thing....I am just saying if someone is mentally unstable to begin with, throw the end of the world on the fire of insanity and watch it light up a lot.

That is the first I have heard of it, and it's just crazy enough to have merit since there are some extremely looney bastards out there lately.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Police in Alabama say a SWAT team shot dead a man wielding an assault rifle following a chase touched off by a triple killing, hours after a separate weekend shooting at a hospital in the state.

Saturday's shootings continued a violent several days in Alabama.

East of Birmingham, police said the man armed with an AK-47 assault rifle was shot at the end of a pursuit following a triple killing in Cleburne County, near the Georgia state line, authorities said. Residents of a mobile home park reported hearing gunshots Saturday morning and alerted police, touching off the chase, Cleburne Sheriff's office Investigator Michael Gore told The Anniston Star.

Investigator Dennis Green of the Cleburne County Sheriff's Office told the newspaper that the three gunshot victims in the triple killing were males but authorities did not immediately identify them further. Green also said a child under the age of 2 also was hurt and had been taken to a hospital in Georgia.

Authorities said officers pursued the suspect into the Alabama community of Oxford, where the man crashed a car near a busy interchange. Authorities said the suspect fired at police with the AK-47, wounding one police officer, who was reported in critical condition.

The suspect "exited the vehicle and started shooting at the officers," Oxford police Chief Bill Partridge said. "The officers returned fire."

Authorities said the suspect then carjacked a vehicle at the intersection, though the occupants were able to escape. Police said they caught up with the suspect nearby as he crashed the car into another vehicle while being pursued by authorities.

Partridge said the suspect reached for the assault rifle as he exited the car. Two members of an Oxford police SWAT team fatally shot him about 12:40 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. Late Saturday, Oxford police identified the deceased suspect as 33-year-old Romero Roberto Moya of Heflin.

Hours earlier on Saturday, Jason Letts, 38, of Jemison opened fire before dawn at a hospital in Birmingham, wounding a police officer and two employees before being shot and killed by another officer, according to authorities.

Police were sent to St. Vincent's Hospital around 4 a.m. to respond to a report of an armed man inside. Two officers who arrived separately converged on the suspect on the hospital's fifth floor.

"When the officer encountered the suspect, there was immediate gunfire from the suspect," Birmingham Police Sgt. Johnny Williams said. He said detectives were still trying to establish a motive.

A handful of cardiac patients and several staff members were on the fifth floor, hospital spokeswoman Liz Moore told reporters at a news conference later Saturday. She said patient care was not interrupted despite the events.

Alabama has been dealing with a rash of shootings of late.

In the Alabama community of Homewood, police continue to investigate Friday's slayings of a 30-year-old woman and her two sons, ages 4 and 5, at the family's apartment. Authorities said they received a call from a man returning to the apartment from work Friday who said he'd found his family dead. Police said the man was being held in "protective custody."

Don't get me started. I am one of the few CCL holders that believes that the class should be a lot more rigerous. There were some ****ing morons in the class I took. One guy couldn't hit the target during testing that was 5 feet away.

Don't get me started. I am one of the few CCL holders that believes that the class should be a lot more rigerous. There were some ****ing morons in the class I took. One guy couldn't hit the target during testing that was 5 feet away.

I wouldn't mind that either... Maybe a refresher course for 4 hours per year or you lose it too.